


This Face, I Think I Know

by celestial_light



Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-14
Updated: 2020-11-14
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:27:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,673
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27554581
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/celestial_light/pseuds/celestial_light
Summary: When a star threatens little Goku’s escape pod, Whis makes a split second decision to save the day.orWhis groaned. Because if Merus was the good angel, then he was the generous angel. And he would not let a baby die on his watch. He may be many things, but away from his Destroyer and free to act on his own will, Whis was merciful.
Relationships: Merus (Dragon Ball) & Goku, Whis (Dragon Ball) & Goku
Comments: 3
Kudos: 16





	This Face, I Think I Know

There was a joy in leaving his Master off to sleep. And while Whis had, in the past, been adverse to his Lord’s long spells of rest, at present it gave him time to escape the childish and flat out ignorant behavior he’d been eternally subjected to. 

It wasn’t all Beerus’s fault. Whis had a hand in molding him, in creating the man that would no longer let anyone walk over him or talk down on him. This anyone seemed to include Whis, the very being who had rescued he  _ and  _ his brother from their hellhole of a planet. He would have thought that Beerus would have extended some gratitude to him, but here they were. 

A cranky Lord whose existence seemed only to antagonize Whis, and Whis leaving the planet to catch a breath of fresh air whenever he got the chance. It was ridiculous.

Part of Whis deserved it though. For all his past aggressions, and for the way he had drilled such fury and fire into Beerus, he shouldn’t have been surprised when he turned out how he was. Mohito had warned him--he’d been too hard on him, more focused with building Berus’s confidence than building a perfect Destroyer, and now here they were (though Mohito had little room to talk considering the sympathetic mess that was Sidra). 

He’d produced a failure. 

Maybe instead of putting sleeping pills in his Lord’s food, he’d put poison in it next. It would be a mercy killing. 

“You shouldn’t be thinking such things of your Destroyer, brother.” 

He paused, the recoil less forceful but irritable nonetheless. Whis enjoyed his privacy, his time flying and maneuvering through the stars alone. 

“When you have a Destroyer, Merus, perhaps you’ll understand my frustration. But until then, allow me to cope how I will.” Floating midair above him, the facade of youth and naivety, was Merus. 

His younger brother held on tightly to his staff, his free hand twitching slightly. Whis honed in on at, wondering just what he’d been doing. 

  
“A mission for the Omni King,” Merus supplied, talking note of Whis’s traveling gaze, “he’s too occupied to destroy his planets by himself, and seeing as I am without a task, he assigned me to it.”

“In Universe 7?”

“Well, there is a reason you want to murder your destroyer,” Merus joked, “I’ll lie when I get back, though. I’ll tell him Berus already got half.”

Whis debated on telling Merus not to. But the alternative was an angry Omni-King laying waste to Beerus and Universe 7. He’d rather put up with an awful charge for eternity if it meant saving the Universe. Besides, he’d loathed to be an angel without a purpose, designated to task here and there at the will of their ruler.

Not that Merus was at fault for his uselessness. It wasn’t his fault that his Kai was rebellious, and that the other four had joined in with him. It wasn’t his fault that the Omni King had done away with the universes at the mere suggestion of a rebellion (at least that’s what the Grand Minister had said).

Regardless, time passed more slowly for those without an assignment, and Whis had hoped their father would give Merus one befitting of his station. 

He was far greater than the errand boy for their king. 

“Now that you’ve destroyed the planet, care to take a stroll with me? I do enjoy my down time, but it’s so rare that I get to see you.”

“Father keeps me close,” and with that, he sank to Whis’s side.

“He’s cautious after your Kai attempted to start a rebellion, I assume.” Whis prepared to warp, “afterall, they did know vital information about the Om--”

Whis didn’t get to finish his sentence before he was jerked back roughly and against his will. That was the thing about Ultra Instinct, A blessing and a curse. No one enjoyed being jerked around like a ragdoll, no matter the danger it saved one from. 

Merus was recovering as well, lavender eyes scanning the surroundings to see just what had caused them to react so vigorously. 

“Is that an escape pod?” Merus pointed not a few meters ahead, narrowing down at what had caused them to move, “I believe there’s a child in it.”

Merus didn’t hesitate to surge forward, catching up to the pod and matching its speed. Whis began to follow, slowly behind. 

Indeed there was a child in there, black beady eyes and wild dark hair, a tail wrapped snugly around him. 

Whis appeared by his brother, raising a brow as the baby turned to him. 

“A saiyan?” Merus suggested, taking note of the features, “Wasn’t planet vegeta destroyed a few days ago?”   
  


“Looks like this is one of the survivors,” Whis gathered, watching intently as the child’s eyes followed him, “he’s just an infant.”   
  


“An infant heading towards a star,” Merus pointed out, as he looked ahead, “it seems the trajectory is headed towards earth, but he will not make it alive as it stands now.”

They stopped their pursuit of the pod at that realization, only their purple eyes following it now. 

For a moment, neither said a word. Only watched, as angels did. It was no bother to Whis, not with Merus beside him. 

For certainly, if any were to intervene, it would be Merus. Merus, who’d nearly defied order to assist a flat our rebellion. Besides, that was Merus’ role. The rebel, the  _ good  _ angel. 

Whis did no such thing, and felt no need to be compelled to do such. Not when Merus was floating right beside him, staring at the child as he flew closer and closer to his demise. 

  
Wait, Merus was just--

“Will you not move to save him?” It came out clipped--shocked that his brother was so...angelic.

  
  


“Am I not already on the bottom of father’s bad list?” Merus stared blankly, “I would hope to not to seek any further.”

Whis groaned. Because if Merus was the good angel, then he was the generous angel. And he would not let a baby die on his watch. He may be many things, but away from his Destroyer and free to act on his own will, Whis was merciful. 

“So now you choose neutrality.” There was no warmth in Whis’s voice, though he moved into action before his brother could respond to him. 

He was between the pod and the star in an instant, the heat and gas enveloping them instantly, only to cool into rock moments later. Whis breathed in relief as the tendrils of heat and plasma quelled. 

In the pod, the boy screamed, tail rigid and legs kicking. 

“Oh hush now, you’re not hurt.” Whis cood, “Not even a scratch. See, I cooled the star before it could get to you.” 

Yet as expected of a child who barely had the capacity to speak, the boy continued to scream. 

“Not very thankful, are you little one. You know I don’t usually save mortals like you,” Whis chided, though a sad smile edged on the corner of his lips. This boy had every right to be ungrateful to him. He’d stood by as his Lord had given the orders to incinerate his planet. If Whis could still cry, he would have. But this life had taken his tears eons ago. 

No angel could cry. But that didn’t mean he didn’t feel. 

“If you continue as you are, you’ll drown in your own tears.” Whis said gentler, placing a hand on the glass. Out of instinct, even in his haze of tears and snot, the child reached out as well, mirroring Whis’s action. 

They stayed like that for some time, but for Whis it was no more than a moment. It had been long enough, however, for the boy to catch Whis’s gaze, those black orbs locking with lavender. Whis’s gut clenched, and a  _ million  _ thoughts ran through his head. 

  
This child was so pure, so peaceful. He could be a good man--would be a good man. He would be powerful, with guidance of course. He would be resilient, with pain. But he would be victorious. 

But again, there would be pain. There would be death. And there would be loneliness. 

_ Hasn’t he experienced enough already?  _ Whis mused darkly. _ Must he experience more?  _

Vaguely, he wondered what had been thoughts and what had been the future. 

He could take him. Raise him as his own. Train him to be a god. No one would harm him after that. No one would hurt those he loved. No one would destroy his planet. He could hide him from Beerus. The feline slept for 50 years on a good day, and wouldn’t recognize a baby even if he was a awake. 

He really  _ could  _ do it. With planning and calculation, he could--

_ Wait.  _ It was a single word. Yet Whis withdrew his hand instantly from the pod, as if he had been burned. The power behind it, the way the single syllable was an order…

There was no mistaking who had just spoken to him. 

Whis stayed there momentarily, hand suspended slightly, and looking over his shoulder just slightly to see if his brother had heard the wordless command. Though Merus’s nonchalant stare had told him otherwise. 

It was just him. That settled it then. 

“Be well, little one.” Whis said finally, watching as the pod resumed its course, “We will meet again, I’m sure of it.”

He prayed silently in the Divine Tongue, asking for the child’s protection and safe passage. 

“Did you make a new friend?” Beside him, Merus returned, looking on well as the pod escaped their view, “It will reach earth within a day, safely.”

“And I’m glad for it.” Whis responded, turning back to his brother, “Now--lets continue our stroll together. Let’s go somewhere with great food.”

“I know a place, Whis.” Merus smiled, “It’s in Universe 12 though.”

“No worries, I don’t mind the ride.”

Besides, Whis had a lot to think about. 

**Author's Note:**

> Let Whis be Goku’s Gandalf lmao. I’m just intrigued by the relationship these three have--Whis, Goku, & Merus. I’ll probably talk more about it, but I have so many thoughts about them (and essentially the other angels).


End file.
